Jon Wilner

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I look at these ranking this week and say to myself, “Now, can any fan really be “mad” about them?”

We’ll see, but you have four of the five unbeaten’s in the top 4 (good sign), with the other one lagging out at 14 (I’m guessing you’re waiting to switch them and TCU next week).

I don’t think you’ll be voted pollspeak’s worst voter this week.

Calfan

Jon. This isn’t that funny. This almost looks serious. Where are my Sunday funnies? Might I suggest SJSU at 12 with all their quality losses next week, or Cal?

Pedro De Pacas

#2 calfan: The funnies are all the comments who wail away on Wilner’s rankings, which, at the end of the day, mean absolutely zero. Don’t worry…I guarantee some idiocy will take place in the comments below.

OT

Utah did NOT look good on the road at Air Force on Saturday. The Utes made more mistakes against Air Force than Boise did against La Tech on Tuesday night.

The Utes were fortunate that Air Force play very stupid football at the end of the 4th quarter.

TCU @ Utah next Saturday will answer all the questions. If TCU were really so much better than Utah, then TCU should win at Utah. I am not convinced that TCU can win at Utah. I am still picking Utah.

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So many interesting games will be played next Saturday at 12:30pm PT:

TCU @ Utah – CBS College Sports

Alabama @ LSU – CBS

Hawaii @ Boise State – ESPNU

Washington @ Oregon or Arizona @ Stanford – ABC regional in Pac-10 territory, espn3.com elsewhere (the other game will be at 5pm PT, similar territorial distribution)

The Big Ten rep in the Rose Bowl may have to come down to a tie-breaker. Right now, 4 teams are tied with 1 conference loss each.

In case of a two-way tie between Michigan State and Ohio State, Michigan State goes to the Rose Bowl because of the “no repeat” tiebreaker. The “head-to-head” tiebreaker does not apply between Michigan State and Ohio State this season.

Michigan State holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Wisconsin.

Wisconsin holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Ohio State and Iowa.

Iowa holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Michigan State.

Iowa will host Ohio State on November 20. That game will eliminate the loser from Rose Bowl contention.

OT

ESPN College GameDay will be at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah on November 6.

That would be the first time this season the GameDay party will be at a game NOT airing on a Disney/ESPN network.

OT

Looking at Wilner’s ballot:

He has LSU at #6 and Ohio State at #18. I believe those two should be switched around.

LSU was exposed by Auburn 8 days ago. I expect Alabama to finish the job on LSU this coming Saturday.

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In case of a two-way tie between Michigan State and Ohio State, Michigan State goes to the Rose Bowl because of the “no repeat” tiebreaker. The “head-to-head” tiebreaker does not apply between Michigan State and Ohio State this season.
*******

Tie Breaker between MSU and Ohio State in a two-way tie for Rose Bowl rep goes to the highest rated BCS team. The ‘no repeat’ rule went by the wayside with the creation of the BCS.

The coaches have already decided that Boise State will play in the Humanitarian Bowl if Oregon, Auburn, and either Utah or TCU were to all remain undefeated.

Hal

LSU is way overrated just like most of SEC.

Brian

Wins over USC(22) and Stanford(11) are slightly better than wins over Oregon State(NR) and Va Tech(19) or Oregon State(NR) and Baylor(25)? Slightly??? You can’t even make your argument work when you use your own rankings.

Tom

Jon, I can’t tell if you are trying to just get attention or are you truly this stupid.

What is your problem with Utah? Every voter but you has them in the Top 10. Yet, you some how put them at 14?????????

Pitt is going to win the Big Least. Iowa State will go bowling. Utah has done nothing except win every game and yet because of crooked and dishonest voters like you, they will never get a chance to play for a NC.

How you keep your vote is a mystery to me. Do you even watch college football? (Watching San Jose State doesn’t count).

Why don’t you do everyone a favor and actually turn on your tv and watch a few games this weekend. Specifically the Utah – TCU game. You might actually learn a thing or two.

You suck, Jon!

Chris

SEC cupcake OOC, record inflation, and voter infatuation, lead to the same dumb conclusions across the country: Miss. St. is a quality win, and Arkansas and South Carolina would clown-stomp Arizona, Oregon St., USC. If Oregon wins out, their resume will be just as good as Auburns.

Zoo

Still don’t see how Nebraska or Wisconsin can rank above the one loss Pac-10 teams. Do people forget that UCLA crushed the team responsible for Nebraska’s loss, and that ASU almost took down Wisconsin, both of those games being played in the mid-west? Those are two of the worst teams in the Pac-10, if they can’t beat Pac-10 cellar dwellers (or teams that get obliterated by them), what makes anyone think the top of Pac wouldn’t beat them soundly?

Towel Boy

Wilner’s rankings are a joke because they are so heavily dependant on a strength of schedule analysis. We already allow various computer formulas to spin this out – and we see how such formulas can lead to some ridiculous results.

Wilner rarely if ever offers his OBSERVATIONS on the strength of a team’s PERFORMANCE when playing an admittedly lesser opponent. But isn’t this what the human polls should be all about? Shouldn’t UO demolishing Tennessee in Knoxville account for something positively, and shouldn’t LSU almost losing to the same team in Baton Rouge diminish their respectability?

Solution: Kick Wilner off the human polls and teach a computer his ridiculous ranking formula.

OT

@Chris:

The SEC used to be perceived by the voters as “weak”. Remember when USC and Oklahoma got the nod ahead of Auburn in 2004?

The perception has changed. Little ole SEC is now OMG ESS EEE CEE, the conference with 4 straight BCS Champions.

Until someone knocks off the SEC Champ in the BCS Championship Game, the SEC Champ will have its spot in the BCS Championship if it can either “run the table” or have one loss and no more than one AQ conference champion finishes the regular season one loss.

Why do you think TCU is practically begging the Big East for admission?

Conference realignment will continue until the only “good” football team left in FBS without AQ access to BCS is Boise State.

(I have been projecting Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl this season even if Boise State were to go 12-0 and be ranked #4 in the BCS Standings at the end of the regular season. The TCU @ Utah winner will be ranked #3 and will go to the Rose Bowl.)

John

Utah found a way to grind out a tough win on the road. Every great team will have those games…. No. 14 is just silly, give me a break.

So Jon, if Utah beats TCU next week, will you be moving them up a spot to #13 on your list?

MrsWilner

I’m sorry but Jonny boy was attacked by a flock of ducklings when he was at the petting zoo. He’s still traumatized and holds a grudge against all things duck.

Iknowthescore

Jonnie-
I sense the drugs are finally starting to purge themselves from your body and mind. I am pleased you took appropriate action to seek professional help! Good boy Jonnie!

After a couple of more weeks I am sure that you will come to realize how foolish your picks have been over the past 7 weeks. I hope your recovery continues and the doctors continue to closely monitor your progress.

Keep up the good work.

Mto

Wilner, you’re an idiot. I’m sure you’re aware.

OT

@Tom:

The AP Poll has NOTHING to do with the BCS system. NOTHING, as in 0%.

The BCS System consists of the Coaches Poll (33.33%), the Harris Interactive Poll (33.33%), and 6 computers (combined for 33.33%.)

The AP Poll is for amusement among writers and broadcasters only.

I am waiting for the coaches to find a way to screw Boise State out of the Rose Bowl so that Boise State will end up being put in their place: in the Humanitarian Bowl.

OT

The polls have moved Utah up to #6.

Don’t be surprised to see the winner of TCU @ Utah move past Boise State in the polls, especially if the win were impressive.

The following Haiku is for “Broncoboss” and other Boise State fans:

Boise Twelve and O…
…will have nowhere to go but…
…Humanitarian

kmill59

Well Jon you finally pulled your head out of your ass and moved Oregon up at least to number two. Don’t really know what your infatuation is with Auburn? They’ve barely squeaked out three or four of their wins. The SEC is just not as strong a conference as all you kool-aid drinking sports writers make them out to be. If Cam Newton sprains his ankle Auburn is done.

What the heck do you have against Oregon? And what the heck is “QUALITY” win? That is such BS. A win is a win, and the Ducks have destroyed everyone they’ve played. I just think you out smart yourself with all the quality win or quality loss stuff. Just watch the friggin teams play. If you watch the games and know anything about football then it’s pretty hard not to put Oregon number 1.

At least you seem to be running out of stupid inane arguments as to why you can’t put Oregon number 1.

Pedro De Pacas

@OT (#23): It is pointed out every week that the AP polls mean absolutely nothing, but people still keep making comments like Tom’s in #12. Despite the fact that you correctly point out that the AP poll means “NOTHING, as in 0%”, to the BCS, the level of vitriol in the comments suggests that people think Wilner’s rankings actually mean something.

Hey, it’s comical to read each week, but really…these people are calling Wilner an idiot?

Leftcoast

Personally, I hope we do get to see the best of the BCS busters (whomever that might be) against a top-flight league champion. Fans have been waiting for that game for several years now only to stand aghast when the powers-that-be had the two busters FACE EACH OTHER in last years game.

I want to see Alabama vs Boise or TCU vs Nebraska. I don’t have them in the NCG but, heck, if the BCS Poll places them there it would be fun to see – and think of all the arguments it would settle.

J.

I would say “mean nothing” is not really true. The AP poll feeds public perception which feeds the Harris/Coaches polls which do factor int he BCS.

The bloggers as a group have an advantage over traditional sportswriters because 1) the bloggers are free to watch as many or as few games as they want to, 2) the bloggers as a group can “cover” college football more effectively than traditional sportswriters because bloggers outnumber sportswriters by at least 10 to 1, and 3) bloggers don’t have editors above them who can be corrupted by money (i.e. school “X” is a big advertiser so be careful).

I am not a blogger, but I know how to behave like one.

I watched almost all of Utah @ Air Force on Saturday. I did NOT like what I saw out of the Utes (who made way too many mistakes that could have cost them the game, but Air Force made even more mistakes and Air Force completely mismanaged the end of the 4th quarter with stupid play selection and poor clock management) so I dropped the Utes below TCU and Boise State this week.

(I am not convinced that TCU is so much better than Utah to be able to overcome Utah’s home field advantage on November 6.)

I am also not afraid to predict that Boise State and Stanford will be left out of the BCS party even if they both run the table and were to finish #4 and #5 in the BCS Standings. The “powers that be” would prefer Utah or TCU ahead of Boise State; and either Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio State, or Iowa ahead of Stanford.

1. Head-to-head if the two teams played each other; otherwise…
2. Overall record in all games
3. BCS Standings

Three way tie:

1. Head-to-head sweep to eliminate one or two teams. If one team were eliminated, then revert back to two-way tie procedure
2. Overall record in all games
3. BCS Standings

4 way tie:

1. Head-to-head sweep to eliminate one, two , or 3 teams. If one team were eliminated, revert back to three-way tie procedure. If two teams were eliminated, revert back to two-way tie procedure.
2. Overall record in all games
3. BCS Standings

Boise State will end up in the Humanitarian Bowl even with a 12-0 record and a #4 ranking if:

1. Oregon runs the table to finish the regular season #1
2. TCU or Utah runs the table and finish the regular season with a #3 ranking to claim the Rose Bowl berth.

Enough voters are getting ready to vote the winner of Auburn @ Alabama #2 so that either Auburn or Alabama will be #2.

Poor Smurfs. Their season is now effectively OVER with 4 games to play because they have nowhere else to go but the Humanitarian Bowl.

gurugrease

Thanks for the confirmation OT.

From the West Coast, now living in Big Ten country…tie breakers and stuff like that gets drilled into you on a regular basis.

Pedro De Pacas

@J (#28): Ah yes…the old “AP influences the Harris Poll” argument. The poster “Dean” tried to make the same argument three weeks ago. I say “tried” because you and Dean have nothing to go on with this statement. You can say it, but that doesn’t make it true.

Let’s see…I’m sure that the 114 people that make up the Harris Poll sit down to fill out their ballots and say to themselves, “Hmmm…let’s see how the AP voted last week before I fill this out…yeah…the AP had school ‘X’ ranked 8th and they won this week so I better rank them around there as well”.

Really?

Try and try and try as much as you want to make the AP relevant (after all, it is kind of hard to explain the vitriol over something that doesn’t matter), but unless it can be proven that the voters who make up the Harris Poll are somehow looking to the AP poll for guidance – and good luck with that – the only FACT is that when it comes to determining the BCS national championship (and other BCS bowl match-ups), the AP poll is meaningless because it contributes exactly 0% to the equation. That is really true.

OT

Hey Broncoboss:

Better Haiku for you:

Boise Twelve and Oh
Humanitarian Bowl
Nowhere else to go

OT

Oregon vs Auburn will be a fun BCS Championship Game.

First team to score 70 might still lose.

Ranger John

@OT……….I am still in hopes the BCS (fixed as it is) still can’t help but go for Boise State, thus giving San Jose State the much needed $400,000 needed, much needed….for the ever increasing fees put on by the state school trustees. (and their 6 figure salaries).

I humbly except the criticism for my bad prediction of the SJS vs NMSt game. (I had the Spartans scoring another 8 points…..Waid missed 3 field goals though.)

Oregon vs Boise State is a better BCS game because of the payback due by Oregon.

Ranger John

OT, after watching the TCU 4 fumbles and the inept UNLV (“RUNNING”?) Rebels, I can’t help but think that the voters/polls saw a different game than I did. Plus Boise did not score 60 plus vs LA Tech nearly a week ago.

Jim Grossman

Since everyone agrees the BCS is broken and essentially is a “beauty contest.” Until we get a proper playoff system like every other sport here’s a suggestion: Evaluate teams by how efficient they are and how effectively they use what they got.

In other words, rank the teams on how well they play (win/loss record, strength of schedule and statistics) against how much resources they have (football budget, ranking of incoming recruiting class, maybe even size of fan base.)

Ideally this would be the only ranking qualification in both the human and computer polls, but even if it was just a component of either or both sets of polls, I think it would spur what I believe ‘amateur’ and college sports should ultimately and even exclusively be about; the pursuit of excellence, not necessarily dominance. Leave that to the pros and their driven pursuit of almighty dollar.

Evaluating teams based on efficiency and ultimately excellence would also be much more patriotic and exemplify the values that American was founded and built upon. Doing more with less, creating an environment where everyone is free to succeed and establishing a level playing field where everyone knows and plays by the same rules…

What do you think? Nixon went to China, the Berlin Wall came down, why not this?

“My arm in plaster hurts. Our dear doctor Grand Sec managed marvellously despite the swelling. Lucky my subconscious directed my fall so opportunely. Without that the grenade that I held in my hand, its pin pulled, was very likely to have exploded. Lucky the German field police heard nothing, thanks to the motor of their truck running. Lucky I didn’t lose consciousness with my head a pot of geraniums… My comrades compliment me on my presence of mind. I persuade them with difficulty that my merit is nil. It was all beyond my control. After the eight metre fall I felt like a basket of dislocated bones. Nothing much came of it fortunately.”
— Rene Char, from Feuillets D’Hypnos (Leaves of Hypnos) 1943-1944
Char was a captain in the Resistance, in the foothills of the Alps, SE France, his code name Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep, son of night, brother of death, but unlike his brother he comes softly and is sweet to men.

zeus omally

Jon,
Wow, you really have improved this week Jon! I honestly can’t find nearly as much insanity in this week’s poll. I’m really saddened that you have robbed me of the sense of superiority that I achieve whenever I read your football rankings!
Nonetheless, let me say a few things:
First of all, I’m glad to see you have wisely recognized that Iowa is better than many voters think and you are to be commended for continuing to have faith in them.
Secondly, congratulations on finally looking at the the quality of Oregon’s play and not just the quality of opponents they play. I could have told you weeks ago that they would handle USC, but you were too busy obsessing over SOS.
Three, LSU is not better than Alabama. Sorry Jon, you just got this one dead wrong and when ‘Bama plays them this weekend you will be forced to say, once again, “Wow, that Omally character was correct again!”.
Four, What did Ohio state do to deserve such an abysmal ranking from you? I’d really like to hear your justification for that. They’ve lost only one game all season, and that was on the road to your #5 Wisconsin team. They’ve easily handled every other opponent.
Five, Congrats on finally ending your bizarre love affair with Oklahoma. It was a dysfunctional relationship to begin with and, as painful as it may seem now, you’ll be happy you’ve moved on.